VATICAN CITY -- Vatican Gendarmes are investigating the death of an American student found hanged in the bathroom of a student dormitory in the Vatican Territory, police have said. 

  The student’s tutor sounded the alarm on Thursday after the 20-year-old failed to attend a class which was part of a summer course the student was attending. Accompanied by an accommodation employee, the tutor had knocked numerous times on the young man’s door before entering the room, where the body was then discovered in the bathroom. Emergency services arrived at the scene but were only able to confirm the death of the student. 

  The man had arrived on Wednesday with a group of other American students to attend the summer course and had shared a room with two other men. According to witness statements, the young men had argued during the evening , prompting the two roommates to sleep elsewhere. The two men then returned in the morning to change before their lesson, where they had found the student asleep in bed. This was the last time the student was seen alive. 

  Further investigations are ongoing by the police and Vatican  Gendarmerie to determine if the death should be treated as a suicide. At present, no suicide note has been found. 

lw